


Castlevania: Failings of Forgiveness

by Drakenis



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series, 悪魔城ドラキュラ 暁月の円舞曲 と 蒼月の十字架 | Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow & Dawn of Sorrow
Genre: Alucard and Yoko need a leash for Soma, Castle Crawl, Dealing with Demons is a Pain, Grief/Mourning, Haunting, Loss of Identity, People are monsters and monsters are People, Psychological Horror, Reincarnation, Soma needs more schoolwork and less Rescue Missions, Survivor Guilt, Vengeful Dead, posession
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21691255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drakenis/pseuds/Drakenis
Summary: Summer 2037, it's hot in Japan and Soma Cruz has a broken air conditioner. This is the least of his problems as strange nightmarish dreams rule his nights, A malevolent presence reaches Japan, and a mad train ride brings him back to the heart of his fears. Soma knew what he didn't know could hurt him but no one warned him what else it might do.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	1. Too Hot for This

Author's note: I do not own the Castlevania franchise or make any money from this work of fan-fiction. This is just done for fun, and out of the love of the games. 

**_"We have long awaited you here, Mathias Cronqvist. Wherever there is fear, pain, rage and loss, the chosen will always be called to the fire."_** The voice was beyond pitch, beyond tone, bottomless, endless, ravenous.

_((Sometimes I wonder... sometimes I doubt, when finding myself alone. Even I doubt. But it was my choice, always mine, for I could bare no others hand over me. Better to be alone. Companionship fades and bonds flay under times wheel, and what is life when time is stripped away and eternity swallows the hours? But eternity encompasses life, and all seals leak under the pressure of time. Sometimes I wonder if another would have taken my place, had I not been so ambitions. Sometimes I wonder a great many things…))_

**_"If you walk this path you must understand you will never leave it, never diverge from it. It will be a shackle about your wrists but it will be the only chain with the power to bind you. Fall in blood, fall in flame, rise again into flesh. Forever. There will be much pain."_ **

"I do not fear pain."

**_"There will be limitations imposed and removed, you will trade away your right to peace and that which you trusted will betray you. You will become like that which you will control. It will destroy you and remake you."_ **

"I will bear the changes."

**_"Why so confident? We have seen angels fall and demons weep, and many a great man gnaw open his own stomach to reach his spleen and quench it. What drives you to this road of carnage? What force possesses you, Mathias?"_ **

"I am what I am."

**_"And we shall see what you will become. Give unto us the stones, blood and black; we will bind them to you. Take with you another name. Tell us it not for we care not, the past must be dead to you now. If you cannot release the past you must forever fear the future. Heed that well. And take with you our favored child, He has aided you before and will be closer to you than your shadow upon this path. May you serve each other."_ **

"…Must I a companion in this?"

**_"You think to do this alone? See reason. You already have an enemy dire to you and these gifts do not come freely. You will understand when you come into your power, the Power to Rule. Our favored son will prove invaluable with time. Take him. This is our will."_ **

_((Would another have stepped forward, approached that being? Would another have sought it out once they glimpsed the glistening maw, the desolation, the madness beyond that power..? Perhaps many and perhaps none, and it matters for nothing now. It was always my decision. I do not regret it. Regret was the first power taken from me, then went forgiveness, and charity, then awe, joy… slowly love submerged itself and sank from my sight._

_But the cruelest blow was that blow I least felt; the last bell to toll. Un-mourned and unmarked, there is no grave deep enough to hold my hopes.))_

_"Awaken Master! The world is not yet lost to thee!"_

"GOOD MORNING TOKYO! IT'S ANOTHER AMAZING SUMMER DAY!"  
Soma Cruz jerked sharply up, crying out once in surprise and a second time in pain as his head connected with an overhanging bookcase. "Ugh! God… what time…?"

"THE TIME IS 7:30! TEMPERATURES FOR TODAY ARE PREDICTED TO REMAIN RECORD HIGH WITH 98 DEGREES THIS MORNING RISING TO A STAGGERING 103 DEGREES AROUND NOON SO REMEMBER TO KEEP HYDRATED! GOOD NEWS THOUGH FOLKS, THE WEATHER STATION CLAIMS A COLD-FRONT MAY MOVE INTO THE AREA IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND BRING US SOME NICE BREEZES-" Soma's hand slapped down onto the off button, knocking the radio off the bed table and sending it crashing to the floor. It bounced once before settling quietly on its side. Damp shaggy white hair was pushed away from squinted eyes.

"I've got to stop setting my alarm to that radio station… 7:30… that's too early…" He turned his head to the small apartment window. The light slipping between the panes wasn't very bright, a consequence of the taller building outside casting its shadow onto the complex. (Maybe it's not too late to roll over and try to go back to sleep.) He looked down at the ruffled sheets and the imprint on his pillow. The room was too hot and he could smell his own sweat. Lingering at the back of his mind sat unease, the hints of fear. Fear that if he went back to bed that dream would return. Repetitive and confusing with an aura of menace, the dreams had haunted his sleep since the weather turned hot. Despite the temperature a cold shudder traced his spine. (…Or not. Dammit…) He bent over and picked up the clock, (too hot to sleep, too early to be up, how long can it take to get the air-conditioning fixed? It's already been three days, and it's so hot…) Soma got up, groaned as his head throbbed. (Hate that shelf.) A cool shower would do wonders for his mood; he just had to get himself to the bathroom.

Usually the fake stone tile on the bathroom floor would be a little chilly, but with the heat how it was it was almost warm. The metal shower bar was comfortable under his fingertips as he pulled the shower door open. A white t-shirt and plaid boxers crumpled to the floor, a pale hand picked up his shampoo from the shelf above the toilet. With a hiss the water turned on, blessedly cool. Soma shivered from the change in temperature, sighed with relief. (Why did I set my alarm to 7:30…? School's been out for almost a week now, Mina's not around, there's nothing going on…) Soma grinned, shook his head sending water flying onto the glass and tile. (Nothing except Yoko coming into town with news about the new assignment. I should write stuff like this down…) He picked up the shampoo bottle (…and take down that shelf.)

Thirty minutes later Soma was making his way down the apartment steps, keys in his pocket and hair nearly dry.

Yoko had been out of the area since their last encounter with the supernatural six months ago. She wasn't the type to linger where her skills weren't needed. They'd kept in touch for security reasons online since, e-mailing each other every odd day or so, commenting on mundane things. Recently however Yoko's messages had become shorter, and much more interesting. Considering the subject matter until that point had been deli sandwiches, death, and taxes that wasn't much of a stretch.

She'd been assigned to monitor a malevolent presence that was traveling across Europe. It had already moved through England and France, traced the boarder of Germany and raced through the heart of Poland. It had jumped the Baltic Sea, passed through Norway and Sweden and traced the edge of the Barents coast until it entered Russia. Then it had disappeared for several days and Yoko's messages became rough and riddled with frustration. She worried that she might even be recalled to another assignment, but she'd worried in vain. After a two week inactivity period the presence flared back to life in the center of China and continued to move towards Japan.

Yoko had come to the conclusion that its final destination was Japan, or someone in Japan, such as Soma himself. Given their history together he couldn't blame her. She had probably already arrived, her flight was due in at 8:00. He was meeting her at the airport so she could discuss the details with him (in Yoko speak: tell me I'm in danger/am a danger and be mum on the rest because she's not sure how much/what she can tell me without saying too much…) and to form a course of action to follow (In Yoko action: become almost a stalker and break several privacy and surveillance laws as she waits for this presence to make a move or move on.) It almost made him wonder why he was excited to see her. Still, Soma continued to grin, his steps light. Gods it was a blessing that the airport she had flown into was downhill from the apartment where he lived, and thank god there was a great air conditioned public transportation system to take him the biggest leg of the trip.

In the present heat the walk back up those steps wouldn't be a picnic though. He was wearing more white than usual to keep cool and still having a time of it. His hair was now bone dry.

As he entered the metro system he smelled something… off. It was faint, unpleasant, familiar… "Ugh…" At the foot of the steps flies were buzzing about a dark furry lump. Soma moved his foot away from the matted bump. (I almost stepped on that thing, jeez. Is that a kitten?) Despite himself Soma curiously bent down a bit, trying to see… with a jolt the limbs twitched and jerked against the concrete. Soma stepped back startled (A rat. Maybe this heat is good for something.) The drone of the flies continued, despite the rodents feeble motions. Soma shook off the surprise, hurried up the steps to the platform. The metro train had already arrived and he slipped inside minutes before the closing of the doors. He sighed along with several other passengers at the cool air as it blasted back to life in the car.

For a Wednesday the train wasn't overly crowded. Only a handful of people occupied his car. Two teenagers, both male, one wearing a headset leaned against the far wall. A family of three sat across from him. They were probably going to the airport like himself if their luggage was anything to go by. The child, a tired girl probably 5 years old held her young mothers hand as the father looked at his watch with exasperation. In the corner sat the last person in the car, and older man with a cane who looked like he'd just left a Go tournament.  
The train moved down the track and Soma leaned into his seat, enjoyed the cool plastic at his back. In his jeans pocket his cell phone began to vibrate. He sighed; (I'm coming Yoko, get a coffee and give me another few minutes. Maybe I should have set my alarm for 7:00, she probably expected me to meet her at the terminal…) He reached for the phone. (Or it could be Mina, but I doubt-) The vibrating stopped.

He pulled the phone out, opened it. The screen informed him that he'd missed a call, but not from Mina or Yoko… (Genya Arikado?) The black letters swirled in front of his vision. (He's never called me, I didn't even know he had my number… Wait a moment, why does my phone know who's calling..? I don't have his number either!) The letters were still swirling, a drop of sweat fell from Soma's forehead onto the screen. (When did it get so hot in here…?)

He wasn't the only one to notice the temperature change. The girl holding her mother's hand began to whine. "Mama… it's hot mama…"

The woman looked down, her bangs stuck awkwardly to her forehead. "I know Kimkun, The air-conditioning must have broken in this car."

"Don't make a scene Kimarie" The father scolded, "We don't want to bother the other passengers."

Kimarie pouted and fussed, tugging at her mother's shirt. "How much longer mama? It's so hot… how much longer?"

"Soon dear, soon." The wife looked at her husband, keeping her voice low. "Are we going to miss our flight Akira?"

He looked at his watch. "Maybe not, I think we might be okay." He then wiped the watch hand across his face. "I'm more worried about showing up at your sisters as dinner instead of for dinner. This is bad. Wasn't the cooling working when we got in the car?"

The wife nodded, returning to quieting their daughter as the girl began to fuss in earnest.

The Go player had started fanning himself with a magazine article someone had left behind, but the teenagers didn't seem to mind the change in temperature too much. One tapped a beat against the glass with his fingers as the other bobbed his head to music only he could hear. 

Soma wondered if he should call Arikado back. Another drop of sweat hit the screen. (This doesn't make sense…) Soma looked up, (Shouldn't we have heard the air-conditioning stop? I didn't notice it. And how did it get this hot this fast. I feel…) Soma stood, turned around. His eyes grew wide. He'd ridden this train plenty of times, he knew the route. They'd passed the airport. (And the train never stopped to open the doors…) His fingers clenched around the phone. (Definitely calling Arikado…)

Soma pulled the phone up to eye level, pressed the call button. An indicator flashed across the screen. NO BARS.

It felt like the train was picking up speed, the teenagers in the back were looking out the window now, their eyes were wide and they mumbled to each other something about "missing our stop." The child was crying, her mother trying to shush her while also watching their surroundings pass by in a blur. Her husband had his phone out as well, and it looked like he had no coverage either. The metro shot under an overpass, plunging the world outside the windows into darkness. And as they shot out from the other side of the tunnel like a bullet from a gun a concentrated force rammed Soma in the gut.

"Ugh-uh!" He keeled over, eyes wide in shock. (Wha—what was-!) The car swayed on the tracks violently tossing him from his seat to the floor. He could hear the girl scream, hear the mother start crying. There was shouting as well and someone pulled on his arm.

"Hey there boy! You alright? You hurt?" It was the old man from the corner.

Soma shook his head, braced his hands against the ground. "I'm all right, thanks."

The pull on his arm increased. "I think we better grab the handholds, something's not right with this train!"

"Hey! Hey!" The teen with the headphones waved at them all, his face slack with shock and his voice high and squeaky. "What train?! I don't see the rest of a train behind us! Weren't there three more cars?!"

"Forget behind us man! There's no cars in front of us!" The other teen had run to the front of the space, his back was now to the front view screen. "We're the only car out here! What the hell's going on?!"

The train car lurched again; Soma grabbed a handhold and braced his feet. Both the mother and the child screamed and the husband held onto them as best he could as they struggled not to be thrown. Outside the windows the wind was wailing but they could see nothing, inside the temperature was rising. (Yoko was right…There is a presence here, and its definitely messing with me!) Another jerk, Soma gritted his teeth and braced. (What do I do? I don't have any souls! And there are uninvolved people here! At least this thing didn't grab the whole train but god knows how it left the other cars-)

Something was moving outside his window.

Soma only had the time to see a copper eye slit before an explosion of wind and glass tore into the car and knocked him into the back wall. It hurt to stand but he had no choice, he shoved himself into a crouch, heard the glass crunch beneath his feet even above the screaming of the other passengers and the hot wind rushing into the car. In the silhouette of the ruined window the creature landed with a terrible crunch and the car filled with the fetid reek of decay. Soma evaluated it quickly, sizing it up before his eyes returned to its copper orb, his mind struggled to make sense of the monster before him. It was no native to the demon castle he knew so well, it's aura a completely different blend of colors and feels. It shone a pale sickly green, utterly foreign to his red/yellow/blue monster recognition. It clouded the inner eye of Power to Rule.

Long gangling arms attached to flared shoulder bones almosy hid the base of poorly feathered wings. The neck was irregularly long, the head human and bald, and completely lacking features. Only that copper eye in the center of its face watched him as he struggled to straighten. (No weapons, no armor, no souls… But I've got to do something…) the car lurched again and the other passengers struggled to fall away from the monster, Soma heard the cry and the crinkle as another passenger landed on glass shards. The monster showed no signs of feeling the violent jerking, its eye remained on Soma's face.

Soma held himself tall, blinked sweat and blood from his eyes as it trickled down his forehead. He could feel something changing in the air of the car, like the charging of electricity. That thing was what had knocked the wind out of him before, he was sure of it, and it felt like it was going to do it again. Subconsciously Soma's head lowered, leveling his own inner eye at the creature. It struck then.

The pressure ripped through the space between them, shattering the remaining windows outwards as it went. It hit Soma's inner eye and forced his head back into the wall. The blow stunned him, a sudden sharp pain and blackness behind his eyes accompanied a loud pop from his ears. But the pressure didn't let up as it had before; it held him there, pinned against the wall of the car. Everything seemed very far away now… the wind, the glass in his hands, the phone still clenched in his fist, the screams of the other passengers. He felt light, the heat was retreating and his vision was narrowing into a tunnel that ended with that glowing copper eye. His hands slowly opened and the cell phone began its tumble to the floor.

(Is… is that it…? Am I… going to die? Like this..?) Soma's eyes began to slide shut, (I can't die on a runaway train car… I need to… Yoko's waiting… Mina…) At the edges his vision blurred, red colored his sight to one side. (Mina…)

_((Sometimes I wonder, and sometimes I question… what have I done…? Where have I gone, what am I seeking in this place, day after day? I knew once but I've forgotten. What will it take, what will it cost… to remember?…I must… I must find… find the reason… the reason for…))_

(I never thought to say goodbye to them…)

_((What is the reason…))_

-(…I neve _r thought…)-_

Pain was creeping back into Soma's body, waking him from the daze. The tunnel's end receded as the taste of his own blood filled his mouth. The pressure on his forehead remained, holding him immobile… almost. Eyes opened again, narrowed, lips curled back into a snarl as Soma pushed back, bending his head forward, inch by inch from the back of the car. Inch by inch it lowered to lock on with his own power. The pressure from the rest of his body vanished and he could see it now, see with the power to rule the glow of his opponent. Step by step, step by step he closed the distance between them. Dracula's dark powers rose within him, rushing over him and flooding his system with adrenaline. Step by step he forced the other back, back to the window. It was a battle of will; his opponent was hazing at the edges like a monster from the castle would before it gives up its soul and Soma felt his dominion between his teeth. He would claim it and then he would break it.

This was too much for the creature. It opted retreat over death and jumped through the broken window. In a whisper of wind it was gone.

The other passengers had missed the entire display as they huddled into themselves crying and shaking. The car was still wildly careening, still racing and still getting hotter… Soma let his head fall forward, exhausted to the core of his being. (That thing… that thing had the Power to Rule, just like me. That thing nearly stole my…) His head rose and he scanned the blackness outside the car. (That thing might come back, we aren't safe here.) He moved back to the wall he'd been flung into, steps relatively sure. The car was going fast but it seemed to have stopped shaking for now. He bent and picked up his cell phone. The screen was cracked, besides that it seemed unharmed.

Straitening he found his gaze caught by the little girl, her eyes wide and bright stared back at him. He could see twin pinpoints of red reflecting back to him in her gaze, almost hypnotic… he jerked his head away, shut his eyes. (Have to suppress him… How could this happen so fast? I can't let them see this…)

Little Kimarie cringed at his response, she quickly resumed crying and buried her head into her mother's shoulder. "Mama! Mama! I wanna go home! I wanna go home!"

"It's okay sweetheart, it's okay, it's going to be okay, I'm here. Sssshhh… I'm here." The woman's voice was thin, she was crying as well.

"Mama! mama!"

Just out of sight in the darkness outside the car danced figures that put many a nightmare to shame. They drifted closer and further away, pulled and pushed each other, jostled to peak into the single lit space in, it seemed, the entire world. Some made noise, soft whispered threads of sound, words that weren't words and other noises of a more primal base. From the center of the shadows something flitted, easily keeping pace with the metro car. Soma recognized it the moment it drew close enough to have features.

"Death."

The skeletal form grabbed onto the broken window frame, bony finger making the metal shriek and shards tinkle to the floor as he crouched on the glass. Death grinned into Soma's face, the blue light that flickered in the backs of his sockets cast its glow across his cheeks. _"My Lord."_ He held up a bony hand as though asking for patience as Soma began to protest. _"This is not of my doing, I lay the credit where it belongs."_

Soma put his hand to his head, "I don't believe this…"

Death leaned forward. _"You have let this go on long enough. Stop the train."_

Soma's fingers clenched, he braced himself. "If you're not responsible I can't, because I'm not in control!"

The Reaper pulled back, his skull tilted in thought. After a moment's pause he spoke again, his breath the only chill in the car. _"…Then you are in danger. If this continues, this craft will enter…"_ Death hesitated again, as if not wanting to speak of what lay ahead. Instead he stretched his hand out again, palm up. _"I will do as I have always done. I will bring you back into the flesh and we will begin anew. Take my hand."_

Soma jerked back, "I am not Dracula!"

Death bent into the car, his scythe curved against the frame. _"Boy… you have never known what you are. Do not presume to tell Me who is what and what not. I see not faces, I see Souls."_ The fire in Death's eyes was brighter, and the color... _"Make your choice, painless or painful. It is all the same. I will find you again whatever may befall."_

Soma' s hands shook at his sides. Punching the specter would do very little good, and never had a weapon looked more welcome. "Believe whatever you want. I will not die, and I will not leave them!"

Death looked incredulously to the rest in the car. _"Them? Those mortals…? They are already…"_

"I will not leave them!"

The reaper stilled, turned his head back to Soma. _"You sound like your son… I had thought this was a page of the past."_ Soma did not respond, Death seemed to sigh, resigned. The fire faded back to blue. _"Very well, as you wish. Save them if you can. Take them with us, begin collecting, but stop this train!"_

Soma looked at his fellow passengers huddled in the corner. "…How."

Death looked out to the shadows. _"Call to your castle."_ His bony fingers gripped the edges of the window; he slid backwards unheeding of the wind.

Soma jerked back to him. "The castle! And go through that nightmare again?!"

Death nodded, he seemed to grin. _"If you fail, fear not. It is only one life of many. I will see you in the next."_ He released the window frame and shot out of sight as though pulled away by an unseen hand. One last glimmer of light shone from the blade of the scythe before it followed its master and faded into the blackness.

Soma did the only thing he could. Perhaps had it just been himself he would have endured, perhaps it would have made no difference at all.

He called.

...

..

.

It answered.


	2. Back to Where you Began

… It answered.

  
Blackness all. An infinite yawning void of colorless pitch spread its tendrils about reaching for a small, bright form. Tumbling, diving, falling back into grasping hands with ebony fingers and burning palms. Something stirs, cold, alone. Its pale lips part in a gasp of surrender.  
The void churns and howls and the world rushes in.

* * *

  
_**F**_ ire.

Fire everywhere, the night is ablaze in leaping light. It is burning away the snow from thatched rooftops, turning animal pens into infernos of hellish noise and smells. With a throatless roar it swallows a hovel whole, sending embers skyward, and for a moment the very stars seem to be falling as the ashes plunge back to the dirt. Another bundle of straw is flung down upon steeple steps, shaping a great wicker pyre. Somewhere an infant is crying, somewhere a soldier screams. His death breaks sharply for a moment through the background chaos before it is swallowed by the struggle of his comrades fighting in the slush and choking on smoke. A woman fleeing the blaze, her skirts and hair scorched, falls in the melted ruin and is at once covered in soot and blood.

Her burnt fingers grasp desperately towards a pale man, a raven haired man. His argent eyes are wide in fury as the cold smokes his breath…

((No more…))

"Mathias! Wait Mathias!" Tall and blond, cloaked in white and armor stands another man. His tone is desperate; he is struggling to rally their men to contain the spreading conflagration. The task is beyond him utterly but he had never known defeat, and he cannot recognize it now. "There are too many, we cannot— hold that line! Hold that line and bring water! Mathias listen to me!"

((If I can save even one… I will not let them-!))

The woman is dragged back by her enemies, neighbors all; they throw her onto the steps. Others are tossed atop her, around her, dead and alive. Most are bound, some are gagged, their sound is a collective wail of betrayal, a dirge of terror. It is to be the murder of the villages' daughters and sisters, mothers and aunts, maids, crones, any and all who are accused for all are suspect. They will blacken and crack because the frost came fast, and the fields were raised by the enemy from the east, and a dark curse is upon them which has brought all of these ills. They will be offered like rams at the heart of their faith without hope of reprieve. All this because one bitter priest cried 'Witch.'

He is deafened by the blood pounding in his ears; he is blinded by the light of the torch that is being lowered to the pyre.

"Hold steady Mathias!” the golden one’s call is further off, they are being routed by their unwillingness to turn swords forged for crusade on country men. “Listen to me, wait for… NO! Come back Mathias!"

The straw has been set alight, cheap mercenaries and farmers block his path to the victims on those steps. His friend reaches out to grab him but falls painfully short. Mathias's blade is drawn; it is a twisting sliver or red casting back the burning forms in the fire.

((Even one-! God, even one..!)) Step by step he advances, his sword curves around, the wall of men before him thins. A farmer falls holding his desecrated gut, a mercenary staggers as their face parts like a cold cut. But not fast enough, he is not fast enough and the smoke is choking him, blinding him. The forms before him are hazed from the heat and he cannot break through. He can still hear the other behind him, running after him and calling out…

"Mathias! Hold on Mathias…!"

Another sound: Screaming metal on metal as a sword catches his through this living hell. He braces but feels is ragged edge slipping back across his own and then another form lunges forward--a wet splash down his side, a shuddering gasp. There is pain. Sudden and bright, vivid and loud, everything falls away as the ground rushes up. Everything… everything's as red as…

((G…God… No…)) He hisses, bows forward. "Ghaha—ugh! Agh…ha…ha…"

The snow is cold in the light of the smokey moon; the stones are covered in frost. Warm droplets fall from above across his face, warm redness spreads below. He will die here and he knows it; a useless, thankless death. He could not save even one of them, and Elizabetha… when she hears how he died she will…  
She…

((Not….not like this…)) The moon has gone red, he tastes copper and he feels nothing ((p…please… not like th--))

Soft like the hissing of the wind, the rattle of dead leaves across a doorway, the claws of a wolf on the floor of a cave, a voice coaxes, calls out to him. The redness below ripples with it's mirth.

**Ah… there you are at last. We have been expecting you. Become who you were born to be. Awaken, Oh lost one…**

"MATHIAS!"

**Awaken!**

* * *

  
"Huh! Huh… huh.. uh…"

Soma jerked up; hands grasping forward, breath hissing out between his teeth. Sweat trickled down his brow and into his eyes before a blood caked fist wiped it away. Slowly his gasps eased, his shoulders lost their tension. The aches and pains of his body set in to let him know he'd been sleeping on hard ground. (What happened…? Where..?) As his eyes adjusted to the darkness they widened, then shut in silent denial. (I'm back. I'm Here.) They opened again, (How did this happen… I was, I was going to meet Yoko at… and I rode the metro…)

He pushed himself up from the stones, looked around the enclosed courtyard. Nothing living greeted him. The wind brushed the vines making a soft rustling sound; the moon glinted mockingly off the great doorway before him. Somewhere above blood-crows cawed to each other, sizing up the intruder below. It was all too familiar. (Although that's different…) Against a stone wall lay the metro car, horribly twisted. The glass from the windows glinted on the ground along with bits of door and bent metal. It was dark and silent inside. (… Empty? Yes, no ones around. That means the other passengers could still be alive! But lost by now… I have to find them.)

He moved forward a step, staggered. The impact had left him shaken and he'd failed to judge how badly. With his head lowered he drew deep, bracing breaths, calming himself and easing the tremor in his thighs. (Just one foot in front of the other, no big deal, one foot, then another, and another, and another…)

Pulled up stones and thrown dirt showed the wild path left by the car before the crash, The archway it rested under was carved differently than he remembered. There had been no lions in the stone when he first fell into the courtyard with Mina and Arikado after the eclipse. The mounted knights with their spears held proudly aloft were absent as well. Of course the knights could have been demolished by the runaway train… A lump rose in Soma's throat, (The castles probably changed again, inside and out with all the important rooms shifted around. I'll be running blind until I find a map.) Soma looked about again, picking up more differences as well as what looked like treetops over the edge of the courtyard wall. (I wonder where the castle settled…) He turned his back to the door and moved to the edge of the courtyard, looked down.

Elegantly descending steps led to the edge of a wide green lawn. Moss and last autumns leaves scattered the ground, the air smelled like night blooms and rotting foliage. He could see what looked like a red prayer gate at the end of the stretch. (…This doesn't tell me much. Wherever this is at least it's still Japan. I'd recognize those gates anywhere.) Soma sighed, turned back to the looming castle. (…Wait a moment…) He jerked back around. (That gate!)

He ran to the edge of the green, barely noting his sore muscles. Suspicions confirmed he stood at the edge and could only gape in disbelief. There could be no doubt; he had called the castle right atop the Hakuba shrine. (I can't believe this… it's like I'm right back at the start of everything…) He moved forward, stretched out a foot to pass the gate… With a roar of wind he was tossed back onto the grass, the wooden arch creaked as though under tremendous strain and bend towards him. Thinking it might fall Soma scuttled backward. The wind ceased, the arch stood tall. (…Unbelievable. I guess no one's leaving yet.) He stood, brushed off dirt from his hands.

(Well, there's no choice. I have to go in. The other passengers are here somewhere, probably trapped inside, and I still don't have a weapon.) He trudged back across the grass, frustrated. (Yoko's going to skin me alive, if the church doesn't do it for her. What will Mina think…? Arikado's not going to take this well either, I didn't have a choice, but…) Soma paused. (Wait… Arikado, he called me on the train. Maybe there's reception here?)

Soma reached into his pocket for his cell phone… which wasn't there. (… It was in my hand. It must have fallen somewhere.) He swept the courtyard with his eyes. It took some searching and far more digging through the glass of the car than Soma wanted to do but eventually his efforts paid off. Something small and black lay underneath a hanging of Ivy. (There we go.)

The cell phone remained amazingly unharmed. Its reception bar glowed softly in two lines. (Yes!) Soma flipped it open, paused. The screen flashed to him 5 NEW MESSAGES. (Probably Yoko and Arikado…) He hesitated, should he really waist time viewing them? He needed to call Genya. (They can wait.) He moved to his contacts list. Sure enough, though he had never entered the information there himself Genya Arikado's name and number were proudly displayed in their alphabetic order. He pressed send.

NO BARS flashed the screen. "What? There's two of them!" He tried again. NO BARS.  
Soma leaned against the wall, shook his head. "None of this makes any sense… What am I doing here?" He grimaced, (And why am I talking to myself? Nerves I guess… I'm alone.) He looked back to the massive door. (No one's here to help me this time.) His resolve hardened. (That's fine. I can get out of this alone.) He looked back down at the cell phone's screen. (...first steps first, find a weapon, then the passengers, then get out. And that means…) the castle loomed before him, the moon smiled down at him from behind the spiraling towers. (…Go in.)

The wooden doors groaned as Soma pushed them apart, their massive shadows stretched to the sides of the hallway before him. Candles sat unlit in their braziers running down out of sight along the stonework. Elaborate tapestries hung on the walls, depicting… it was too dark to see. Strangely, it seemed there was no light in the castle at all. (I don't get this…) Soma hesitated in the doorway. (The candles are always lit, have been every time I've been here at least. They even re-light themselves after you put them out.) He took the first few steps inside, the great doors behind him slammed shut.

(…I should have seen that coming.) Out came the cell phone again, up went the top. A miniscule amount of light returned to illuminate the inches before him. (This isn't going to work; I can probably walk like this, but jump? And fight? There's just no way…) His footsteps echoed down the stone hall, somewhere far off he could hear something creaking. (Maybe I won't have to fight. I did summon the castle this time, right? It never seems to attack those who've called it. ) He picked up the pace, (but that's no safeguard for the other people I brought with me. God, I hope they have the common sense to stay still or find their way to empty rooms. This is my fault…)

His teeth grit. (These forces are always targeting me, and someone else is always getting dragged in. Arikado said the castle was dangerous for normal people and that Mina would have died if I'd wasted time when we first met. How long can they last?)  
Something crunched beneath his foot.  
He moved his shoe to the side, bent down to see it with his cell light. It was a child's hairpiece, a small pink plastic blossom. (…) He could remember a little girl complaining about the heat; remember her clinging to her mother when the train ride went to hell. (I'll look for her first. She probably needs more help than the others anyway. Maybe she's still with her parents…) He continued moving down the hall, holding the hairpin with the cellphone. (…They might all be together, thinking this is just some old castle and looking for help…) He grimaced, started to move a lot faster. (Calling for help, opening doors, lighting candles and drawing the attention of every hungry freak of nature for miles!)

Suddenly the floor was no longer beneath him. Legs and arms flailing he plummeted through the dark, coming to a jerked stop as his feet hit and broke water. It was cold; he fought for his bearings, pushed himself back to the surface. "Ghah! Ah… great." Treading water Soma cursed himself for not thinking ahead, now his cellphone was gone, probably miles below him in murky… But there was still a dim glow. Miraculously the phone had bounced, settling on its side and illuminating the small rocky ledge it rested on. "Thank God." Soma swam to the outcropping, pulled himself out. After the heat of his past few days the cold almost seemed a relief even as he began to shiver.

An unlit torch hung on the wall above his head, smelling faintly of dry grass and pitch. The smell was nauseating but he couldn't have said why. He took his phone and moved back from it as quickly as he could. (Why are all the lights out again?) He picked back up his phone, turned it about so he could see the walls around it. He'd fallen through a hole in the floor and it looked like he'd landed in the aqueducts. "Just great."

_**"I disagree."** _

"You!" Soma whirled about, backed away as the grinning reaper emerged like a whisper from the stonework. "Are you following me?!"

_**"Will I continue to come upon sights like this?"**_ The eyes under the cowl had a bright luminescence in the dark, and the heavy voice was dry with… sarcasm? _ **"You made better progress when you were at war with us, or perhaps you had better sense."**_

Soma pressed a button to keep the screen lit, to be alone with Death in the dark was worse than finding out in ten feet of water that you couldn't swim. "You are following me then."

The hand holding the scythe lifted it, moved forward as the ghastly form used it like a crutch. _**"No, I do not follow, I have never followed you. Intersected, passed, crossed and chanced upon you, yes… that is our agreement; but never followed. You have chased and found me instead each time we have met."**_

Soma rung out his shirt as best he could while holding the phone; "You like rambling on about nothing, don't you? Just come out with it, why the hell is this happening now? What was…" He struggled to find the words to describe it, settled with, "… that thing on the train?"

The reaper's sockets flickered, almost as though he had blinked. _**"It is of no concern now, you are inside the castle and here they dare not follow."**_

Soma paused, took a deep breath…"They?"

Death motioned to the passage. _ **"Attend to what is within your control before you seek what is not. You cannot see."**_

"Of course I can't, that's why I'm looking at you with my cell phone screen." The light went out for a moment as Soma pulled his shirt on, it danced wildly on the walls for a few seconds before focusing once more on the specter grim. "…Can I turn on the lights as well?"

Death's attention turned from him, the poor light heightened the white of his mirthless grin. _ **"No. You must make your way to the furnaces and restore them. If you were in your full powers…"**_

Soma's phone beeped at him, reminding him that he had 5 MESSAGES, it also showed his battery was half wasted. "Dammit…" He wanted to turn it off and conserve battery but it was too dark to chance that down in the aqueducts. "Well, how about getting out of here? How do I…"

Death was gone. The bare wall mocked him, it was not a relief.


	3. Is Anybody Out There?

(Natural light, oh thank God for natural light!) Soma pushed a mossy door fully open and took a deep breath. The moonlight showered down through high arched windows. Floating specks of dust which probably held zombie plague or something danced in the beams but Soma couldn’t care less. He was up, he was out, and he could see.

It had taken almost an hour to find his way out of the aqueducts. The lack of torches and the seemingly endless dark water had made it a particularly harrowing trek. Now with those wet stones behind him Soma's spirits rose. (I’d almost given up on there being more to the castle than an entrance hall and the aqueducts. That would have been insane.) He leaned out a window to feel the air move on his face. (Not that this hasn’t already been insane in every way I could have imagined, and more. The castle is either broken or its dicking with me.) The aqueducts hadn’t been what prior experience had led him to suspect. There had been no discarded gear, no lights, and no monsters.

In fact there had been no supernatural opposition to his passage through the tunnels in any way. No mermen or ice spirits, no traps, and no guardian for the area. Nice as it had been at the time it was unnerving; to go this far and see no monsters… did that happen in real life? Soma tugged at the cotton beneath his neck, his shirt was drying from a second unexpected dip and despite the odds his phone had once again been spared. Battery life was dangerously low though. (Ok, better get my bearings and at least try to pick a productive direction. Where is this? It looks like…) stained glass, marble angels contorted in pain, a pulpit... (No question this is the chapel. That probably means I’m not too far from the main hall, maybe even near a ballroom or the gardens.) Soma let his eyes wander over the colorful windows and carved woodwork. He followed along the carpeted isle, thoughts drifting.

(Why would a demonic castle have a chapel? It's a stupid question I know but one day I've got to ask it. I remember how much this area disturbed me the first time…) A quick glance around, (…it was larger then, it was larger than this the second time too. If fact this is the least impressive I've seen it. Still no monsters…) The alter loomed before him, a massive, honestly garish wooden thing carved like a triptych depicting the three spheres of creation; hell, earth, and heaven. It was cracked along the side as if someone had brought an ax down on it in a repeated burst of violence. (I wonder if they need to be summoned like the lights. If that's the case I'm in luck, passing through will be a breeze. Even better, no monsters means the other passengers are alive and missing, just missing.) 

A smile tugged at his lips, sharply out of place in the solemn room. (Go figure, I summoned it and I botched it. Even if I did drop it on the shrine…) a wince. (which Mina will laugh about after she kills me like something right out of a horror movie. And then probably uses my blood in some old ceremony to restore its sacred aura.) Soma paused, shook his head. (Wait that makes no sense at all, blood ceremonies and human sacrifice? I'm thinking too deeply into this.)

He stopped and checked his surroundings again. No changes had occurred; the chapel was still small, and still deserted. (Bizarre.)

Somewhere down the hallway a door shut. Soma jumped, kicked himself for it a moment later. He could hear footfalls coming down the hall and towards his space. (No monsters, yeah right! Was I out of my mind?) He jumped to a platform and ducked behind it just as the chapel door opened.

"I can't help it, I didn't mean it, and he walked into it himself-I will not feel bad! Cease to plead with me!" It was a woman's voice, irritated, oddly accented, distinctly huffy.

"I plead not! But you really shouldn't have laughed, the poor dear; he was so embarrassed as was…" A second woman, she sounded on the verge of laughing herself.

"Well he should have been! If he hadn't been trying to take that much at one time he could have seen where he was walking. Its fortune alone he didn't slide in it and fall."

(What is this?) Soma fought the urge to peak, his face pulled with confusion. (Succubae? No… I've never heard them talk to each other like this. Demon maids? In the chapel? This doesn't make any sense… They sound human but I know they’re not from the train. Have more people somehow wandered into the castle?) Whatever they were they were coming closer, the softer voice giggled, the warmer tone sighed as if impatient.

"So close to a campaign and already making a mess, it makes me worry for them once they leave…"

"There's no good fretting Elizabetha, soldiers come and go.” It was said easily, a matter of fact. “Nothing will get past our lords. I hear they have gained some renown…"

"I worry regardless. Sometimes, at night, I have the most fantastic dreams about them." The other woman didn’t sound comforted, she sounded haunted.

"About them hmm? Or about "Him."

A shocked inhale was punctuated by a scolding "Sara! I disapprove where your mind has wandered! Leon is there as well…"

"And that I disapprove." But it sounded playful, as though she didn’t disapprove much if at all.

"Hold your tongue, you say terrible things! It is not that way at all. Villages burn and the battles are fierce. Sometimes… in my dreams, they lose." There was a hush to that voice now, and then a shaky breath, "And I know they are but dreams, but they stay with me even when I'm awake"

The other’s tone lost is playfulness, it fell softer as if to conspire with her fellow. "…Is that why you wanted to come here? I did not realize, but you have been troubled…"

"No, it is cool here and hot outside." Gone was the hush, there was warmth again, and some irritation had returned. "I merely wanted a moment to relax it the shade."

(Leon… Elizabetha…) The names tugged at something, a memory, a dream? Soma grasped for it vainly in his hiding space, listened as the women moved further and further into the chapel, closer and closer to him. Curiosity overrode his caution at last and he stood up behind the pulpit.

He expected a trap, to be attacked. His hands were fisted, his breath was braced.  
Nothing.

The door was not open and no one stood in attendance down the aisle. The two women had, seemingly, never been there at all. Disbelieving Soma walked down the steps, looked around for any signs of habitation he might have missed. Still nothing, the castle had swallowed them without a whisper. It was the worst thing that had happened yet and the hairs from the base of his neck down the backs of his arms stood high with tension. "…This is ridiculous. I couldn't have imagined that. What is going on here?" The stillness swallowed his words; he would take them back if he could. It didn’t feel safe to talk here.  
It didn’t feel safe to be here. He knew the castle housed many ghosts but in the empty stillness of the chapel Soma felt haunted.

The aura of the small space closed in, became heavy and oppressive. He shook it off as best he could, made his way to the door. (Just have to keep moving, find the passengers, get the hell out of here.) A glimmer of moonlight caught the edge of something metal, flashing its light into the corner of his eye and and heralding a small change of fortunes for the better. (That’s more like it!) It was only a short sword, but that was better than hands alone by far. If he ran into a skeleton he'd be well off. (Maybe I'll find some warmer clothes as well; this shirt isn't great for cold castle explorations.) He left the chapel behind, putting the strange voices out of mind. He had other thoughts there now that felt more comfortable to focus on. He needed to reach the furnaces so he could find the other passengers, he needed a map, and he needed new gear.  
But distantly the names bothered him still… (Elizabetha… Leon…)

The hallways seemed to stretch on forever; perhaps they did, he had no way to be sure. But the sword felt right in his hand, comforting. Distantly he realized he'd missed carrying around an armament in daily life. The hilt filled his grip like an old habit, like a familiar pair of shoes you didn't feel fit to go out without. It seemed he'd developed a comfort in the cold metal. (Well, considering how often this sort of thing has saved me it's probably normal. I still have no idea where I'm going. Maybe the ballroom..? I don't remember seeing any furnaces in my previous adventures anywhere.) Comparing now to the past was pointless given how the castle was behaving. Soma switched gears, (If I was a furnace… then where…?)

The doors before him opened under his hand and spread themselves across the threshold of an inner garden. (Bingo. It was this or the ballroom. Called it.) A variety of blooms stretched up from the flowerbeds to reach for the moon enfolded between the castles soaring towers. The air was sweet with an underlying waft of rot that made it foul where the mist was thick. Soma breathed through his mouth and resolved to pass this place quickly. Beneath his sneakers the dirt padded his steps, his progress was almost silent, and the sounds of the rustling greenery seemed to increase in volume as he neared the center of the layout. He put on more speed, the smell was reaching him even with his best efforts to block it. 

Despite himself he began to notice odd markings on the ground as he hurried on his way, almost archaic in their complicated line working. (First furnaces, then ghosts that don't attack, then Gothic crop signs... Nothing is the same.)

He'd seen symbols like those along every step he'd made so far, and he'd ignored them, just as he would continue to do now. They reminded him of the seals he'd been forced to use to defeat high ranked monsters in the last castle encounter and if they were as similar as he suspected they were it probably meant trouble.

Relief was instant as he exited the garden, the foul air was held at bay behind him by another door. Catching his breath he leaned on a wall and examined his newest surroundings. Surprise caught and held him; he had run right into a teleport room. It looked different of course, everything did. He didn't recognize the paintings on the walls but the atmosphere had the right charge to it. It zinged the underside of his fingers like a shock of static electricity; that feeling was hard to forget. (I'll have to go back out. This won't take me anywhere until I've found one of its partners.) Soma didn't move from his lean against the wall though, his sword loosely drooped in his grip. (No reason not to rest a moment though, these rooms are always safe.) 

Out of the wet, the dark, the haunted and the smelly with a moment to relax the thought of those five messages on his cell phone reared its head. He'd almost forgotten them with all the ground he'd covered.  
(Crap! I meant to check that, It could be Genya or Yoko and my battery isn’t going to last much longer!) He reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone, entered his voicemail. (…what?) A closer examination revealed that all five messages had been left by unrecognized numbers. Genya and Yoko had called, but they hadn't left anything for him to hear. (but why, what?) It didn't matter; he couldn't call them back from here. The castle seemed to be an uncovered cell zone. (No way to know, I won't have any bars until I get out of here. I can at least see who left these other messages) He entered his password and waited for the first playback to begin.

Before the automated voice could finish telling him when the message had been left the ground rolled beneath his feet. “What the hell!” Soma almost dropped the phone, caught himself because his shoulder was braced on the wall and shook in place the floor continued to move. He couldn't make out the message over the noise caused by the stones grinding and pulling against their foundation. (What is this?! There's no way this thing can be active now, I haven’t found..!) The walls began to bulge and strain, rattling their bricks. Soma snapped the phone shut and prepared despite what he knew to be sent to another part of the castle. That was not what followed.

Before his eyes the layout of the room shifted and writhed, individual bricks re-aligned themselves as ghastly indescribable faces broke through, eyes rolling, jaws snapping and snarling at him through the cracks. Hands reached for him as creatures roared and jerked against the mortar. Soma fought to keep his footing but the floor was obviously trying to throw him into the hands of the walls. Escape occurred to him but it was a hope all too soon crushed by the absence of the door, it had vanished behind the sea of moving bricks and grasping fingers. Soma held his sword out before him, braced against the bucking floor, determined to take whatever was coming. And something was coming; he could feel it in his gut.

With sudden violence the floor at the far end of the small room exploded upwards like a great stone boil, the force of it threw Soma to the ground. He tried to catch himself but his hands slid out from under him as he skidded across the ground and into a wall. The shock of the impact stole his breath as his face slammed into the brick. His ears popped and a shock of black filled his vision for a moment but the pain was lucky, the pain was all that kept him aware. 

The floor of the entire room was opening now as if that burst of energy had been the giving of a floodgate. Out of the cracks beneath him Soma could feel fingers grasp his shirt, holding him down. Pulling him down. (Why… why is this… happening..,) He was sinking, being dragged into a mass of maddened gazes and cold hands. Distantly he was horrified. Distantly he was in pain. Oddly everything seemed distant now, only the eyes were real, great white milky pupils filling up his vision and stealing even his ability to scream. (This Castle… this place… it hates me, but I… I called it!) Thousands of dead eyes peered into him, dissecting him, spreading his spirit bare. He recognized the danger but he was still too stunned to respond. Underneath the noises of grinding walls and wailing dead he could hear the sound of something dragging itself towards him from the hole in the floor. Blood from his forehead rolled over his brows and tinted his vision red. Deep inside his powers, suppressed by lack of souls, struggled to unfold in their cage of flesh and bones.

(I called it, had power over it. Is it fighting that…?) The creature from the hole had long, long arms with long, long fingers. Its head was making the journey between those great limbs to him and Soma struggled to make sense of the monstrosity through his own blood in his eyes. (Is the castle trying to destroy…) Soma’s glazed eyes widened (Me..? Him..? It's trying to destroy… him? It hates him? It hates him!) The beast had reached him, its face hovered above his face. Its rancid breath wheezed over him and it stared down at him great, empty, shark like eyes. Its jaws spread and spread as its hands reached for him…  
Soma snarled, lips curled back in a subconscious attempt to bluff. For a moment they breathed the same rank air, for a moment they held gazes. The room screamed, the stones moved, the fingers pulled and nails scratched his skin. Dead eyes gleamed in the darkness and the faces twisted their expressions with wrathful victory as for a moment, just a moment, Soma considered that this might actually be the end of everything. This bizarre scene might be the last thing he saw before he died.

And at that thought, despite himself, he laughed.

The sound rose unnaturally among the chorus of discord and the wails and snarls tapered off as they puzzled the change. The eyes of the creature above him widened, showing a great white ring; Soma laughed harder. The blood dripped down his nose and off of his chin and even that sound seemed to swell, become louder and louder. He felt numb. He felt alive. Underneath his ribs his heart felt too big his lungs strained in their cage as Soma barked and roared with dirged mirth, grinned with bared teeth at the horror above him and stared through the abyss to the other side. He knew what needed to be done without knowing. Raw power would suffice, and that he had, so he let it rip through him to seize the throat of the monster above him and draw it in closer. The hands that had held him twitched and jerked, fought to be free of him, above him the unspeakable thing shook and croaked its distress as it tried to shimmy back the way it had come. 

Eyes glowing, bloodstained and dripping, lips snarling around the end of a chuckle, his friends would be hard pressed to recognize Soma now. He rose from the floor and cast the creature off of him with the backhand of his will. The little light in the room, cold and misty, swept across his face making ice chips of his eyes and turning his smile into a jagged line. Step by step he moved against the force of the castles malice and met it with his own cold burning rage. The walls screamed as stones ground frantically back into place, reaching hands pulled back, became placating, and woeful faces averted their gazes as bricks and mortar covered them. Beneath his steps the ground locked and gaps disappeared, pulling their grasping fingers down with them.

Soma felt as though he was caught in a dream, that he was falling and unafraid. He spread his arms to embrace the void and saw across that void another was falling towards him as well, arms open to catch him. If they met now, if they met at last…

But Soma hit the wall of the room first, Fingers splayed across disobedient stone and there wasn’t time to fall further. The air was charged, waiting for the lightning to strike. Soma breathed a word, “Submit.”  
The room shuddered. The faces wailed no more. The arms were gone. The monster was gone. The stone settled. Whatever it had been it seemed to be done and all that remained was a teleportation room and Soma himself. 

His breaths coming in shaky pants, palms slick with sweat, he slid down to land on the floor. Slowly thought returned, full sensation returned. Soma shivered and grabbed his knees to keep his legs still (Hates him… hates him…) He tried to still the shaking that seized him but failed, it was too cold suddenly… the floor was leaching away his body heat. One hand rose to brush the blood off of his forehead, out of his eyes. (I've got to, to stop… hitting my head… that's the second time tonight...) Limply his palm fell back to the floor leaving a streak of red against the stones. (Have to stop… before I…) His eyes were shutting, he fought against it. (I…) The world swam up and faded away. Darkness descended. Soma saw no more.

Beside his prone form the blood smeared across the stones dripped into a crack and ran straight and true into a seal upon the floor. 

In the distant clock tower under Death's watchful glare the bells began to swing.


	4. Dark Things Wake

“--ster, you ne---"

It was dark, and cold. Someone was calling, but it was too faint to hear. Soma moaned, gradually became aware of the cold stone against his back, the pain between his eyes and down the bridge of his nose. The air smelled stale and felt thick in his mouth, he coughed.

“--an you hear m---"   
  
(What… what happened this time? Who…) He opened his eyes, shut them quickly. His vision was nauseatingly blurred and the dust stung his eyes. He tried to remember exactly how he had ended up unconscious on a floor for, God, the second time today? That was a mess of confusion and emotion. (Hands and faces, the walls and floors opening; It's like remembering a nightmare.) A nightmare that on some fell level he'd enjoyed. His jaw clenched. Forcing his will-- no, not his will. Forcing Dracula’s power into the room had doused his spirits as much as facing the monster on the train. He could feel the strain from it in his very fibers. (I haven't collected enough souls to be pulling these stunts; it just takes too much out of me. I've got to be more careful or I won’t find the other passengers.) The room was cold and the stones were hard, and though he was getting far too familiar with those discomforts realistically he could only take so much abuse. (I haven't found a single potion yet. Not one. I can’t take stupid chances while other people need me.) Feeling slightly stronger he pushed himself up onto his side, reached for a wall, a support. His fingers met only air. Soma groaned, rolled to put his knees beneath him, hissed at the stiffness in his legs. (I… hate everything, I hate absolutely everything! Today is a bad day. Today was a day I should have slept in. Yoko could have met me at my apartment. It's not like she doesn't know the address. I haven't told her, but she knows. I know she knows.)  
  
“---u even listening to me? Are you deaf? Oh don’t t---"  
  
(What is that?) Soma looked around, reached for his sword instinctively and hissed with irritation when it wasn’t there. (…wait a minute… I’m alone aren't I? I'm alone in this castle except for the other passengers and Death. That isn’t Death unless he found a tube of helium and...) It hurt his head too much to continue that trail of thought. (No that can't be death.)   
  
“MASTER!”  
  
Something flew up in front of his face. Soma fell backward, landing on his palms and lower back with a grunt of surprise.   
  
“Master! Listen, listen!” A small blur flashed in front of him, hovering inches from his nose. “Are you all right? Why aren’t you answering me? Where is everyone--”   
  
Soma did the only thing that made sense under the circumstances and swatted it like a bug. He felt badly about it a moment later when he heard the tiny thing yelp and hit the floor. It didn’t seem like a real threat now, and he hadn’t really meant to…That feeling faded quickly into shock as the unseen irritant gave a squawk of indignation and swore a blue streak that would make Arikado blush. Soma scooted a little further into the room feeling around desperately for that sword he’d lost. He’d be needing it by the sound of things.   
  
Sudden light, bright and pale, slid across his eyes to finally giving away the teleport room’s door by the beam its seam was casting. Everything started coming into focused as Soma’s eyes adjusted and the lights separated from the shadows. He took in the walls, the dust floating in the air, the broken bricks on the ground all around him. (It looks almost as if the room started falling in. I guess it could have been worse…) And there was his sword! Bent. He picked it up and stared at it incredulously. (How the hell did that happen? Well this is just fantasti--) His thoughts were interrupted as into that small beam of light stormed the angriest-and smallest-woman Soma had ever seen.   
  
She looked far too much like a miniature succubus for Soma’s liking, albeit one dressed in flower petals and.. crystals? Her minuscule face was pinched with rage, her tiny fists were balled, two thin wings all but vibrated with indignation behind her back. “Tink’s twin turning tricks for tadpoles! Why? Why would you do that? You could have broken my wing! Do you have any idea how long they take to mend? Do you? What is the matter with you, you, you, you brute!” A quick breath; “I was only helping, only answering you that’s all! When did that become an offense? Are you blind as well as deaf? Didn’t you see me there? I was right there! I… I…” She took another breath; “I called and called, and you wouldn’t wake, and then I shook you, useless! You weigh a million pounds! And when you do sit up you just stare off at the wall like a zombie at a book! Like Cerberus after a Greater Skull! Like Lord Death when he’s pretending to be ‘deep’!”   
  
There were no words, Soma was floored. (Tiny fairy succubus ripping on her fellow monsters..? Huh.) He stood slowly, watched as she grew even smaller in perspective. Far too small to have a personality that big really. (Wait, Tinkerbell doing what with what now?)   
  
“You are the worst!” She shrieked. “If Hector could see how you were treating me he’d, well he’d… he’d say things! Even Issac would be…” She stopped, either too angry to speak or trying to find the words, Soma couldn’t tell. “I… I…oh…just forget it.” She folded her arms, posture clearly an indignant slump in miniature. “Well my Lord what can I do for you? Clearly you’re looking to vent some aggression. I’d recommend a trip to the potter’s field. Those poor saps never care what you do to them.”   
  
What could he say to that? “...I’m not your lord.” There! That was a good start; Soma mentally patted himself on the back. “I’m not staying either.” Best to clear that up too. “I’m just trying to find some people in the castle, then I’ll leave and be out of your hair.” He moved around the slutty fairy making an effort not to step on her or hit her with his coat. She was small, but also clearly angry at him, and small things had definitely attacked before in the castle. The door groaned when he pushed on it but gave without trouble and moonlight poured in from outside, revealing the night gardens, the sprawling walls of the keep, and the realization that the air smelled better in that dusty destroyed little room then it did out here.   
  
“Hyde's Hangnails in Titania's slutty silk stockings! What happened to you?” The fairy launched herself into air, fluttered up so that she was eye level and he could see the shock on her face. “Your clothes, your face, your… your hair! It’s so fluffy! And they forgot your beard, you look so young!” Her hands pressed to her cheeks in such overblown shock that Soma would have felt mocked if she wasn’t so clearly freaking out. “I… wow! That’s different! Either the supplicants botched the revival right down to the reading of the verses or, or…” She shrugged, “Suffered a stroke of creative genius. It’s a surprisingly good look on you actually. I like it!”   
  
Was this what a stroke felt like? Was his face actually frozen with shock? (Nope! Nope, nope, nope, nope…) Soma shook if off, though his face still felt weird, and started walking. He was not going to have whatever conversation that was about to be with a monster. (That’s too weird for me!) Despite himself he laughed, light and nervous under his breath. (Compared to that talking to death is almost comfortable. What does that even mean? Nothing good, that’s a safe bet.) It was hard not to compare the fairies response to a giggling schoolgirl and that was just… just… no. (This day is going to be the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me and the bar is pretty damn high for that. If it’s still day? Crap how long have I been here? I don’t even know how long I was out and those people are still…) The gears in his head stopped. They had to. The fairy was sitting on his shoulder. “Um, what?”   
  
“What what?” She tilted her head.   
  
“Why are you…” (Riding me,) his brain supplied. He mentally slapped his brain. “Sitting there?”   
  
“Master…” She stalled a moment, hesitantly. “You can move much faster than I can and perhaps, for now, you could use some company?” She threw her hands up to wave off protests that Soma was too stunned to make. “It’s just that you’ve just gotten back! Sometimes you don’t settle well…. At first… what if you get hurt?”   
  
“You plan to protect me?” It was the best Soma could do, this tiny monster kept shocking him.   
  
“No of course not! I heal; I’m not a fight…” She stopped again, looked at him with growing concern. “You really don’t remember me at all, do you?”   
  
“…I told you I’m not who you think I am.” He didn’t like this. This shift. A line was blurring that he’d never imagined he’d need to worry about. The fact that the monsters in the castle served Dracula was just that, fact. The thought that it might be based in something besides the power to rule was too disturbing to consider. “You should get off of me.” She wasn’t attacking him, she was talking, and she was a monster of the castle but not his enemy. Death he could shrug off but this… this was wrong. He had never spoken to any of the castles monsters on his prior runs and they had never tried to speak to him. They were not people. They could not become people. (I won’t be able to handle this if everyone is people.) If they could be reasoned with and he had killed them anyway what did that make him? (No, stop it. They attacked me. All of them.) True to a point. He had quickly gained skills and souls that let him avoid the worst of the danger if inclined. He could have made it through without killing nearly as many as he had. But it had felt good, right; he had wanted their souls, their power, with a hunger he couldn’t satisfy. (I can’t think like this, I don’t have time for whatever this could mean. You can’t worry about what something feels when it’s trying to kill you. I can’t…)   
  
“Master?” She was tugging on a strand of his hair. “Are you ok?”   
  
“I’m…” He wasn’t fine, he wasn’t anywhere near fine. First a train crash with a monster, then the reaper, then the castle, ghosts, another monster trying to eat him, a talking fairy, a weird self doubt he really didn’t need, at least two serious cracks to his head, and to top it all off his phone was probably dead by now. “My phone!” He felt his pockets frantically before a familiar rectangle brushing his fingertips calmed him. “I was going to listen to a voicemail! God how do I keep forgetting things like this?”   
  
“I have no idea.” The fairy replied.   
  
Soma looked at her, annoyance easily driving out sympathy. “That was rhetorical.”   
  
“Oh…” she answered. “At least I didn’t think you were actually asking God. What’s a phone?”   
  
"It's..." He stopped himself, she didn't need to know. Instead he pulled out his phone, watched with dismay as a few thin pieces of the screen chipped of and fell. It was still, still, intact. Somehow. But not for much longer if this kept up, and it would. Soma had no doubt about that. One fairy seemed a humble start but he knew exactly how crowded this castle could get. Before anything else could attack him he went into his messages and pressed play.   
  
He hadn't expected to hear water. He certainly hadn't expected to hear the terrified voice of a child crying for their mother, their father, for anybody to help them. Crying that she was cold and it was dark and she was scared. Whimpering that her feet hurt, her legs hurt, that everything hurt and she just wanted to go home. Soma swallowed back his shock. She couldn’t know his number but he knew the owner of that frightened little voice; it was the child from the train.


End file.
